Method for enabling an application recorded in a radiocommunication terminal to access functions of the terminal and terminal implementing said method

ABSTRACT

A method of enabling at least one application ( 22 ) stored in a radiocommunications terminal ( 10 ) to access functions of said terminal ( 10 ), said terminal ( 10 ) being suitable for enabling data to be exchanged in both directions in application of a data standard implementing a transfer channel that conveys so-called “AT” commands, said terminal ( 10 ) including an AT command manager ( 15 ), the method being characterized in that access from the stored application ( 22 ) to the terminal ( 10 ) takes place by exchanging AT commands via said AT command manager ( 15 ).

The present invention relates to a method of enabling at least one application stored in a radiocommunications terminal to access functions of the terminal. The invention also relates to a radiocommunications terminal implementing the method.

A non-exclusive field of application of the invention is that of radiocommunications terminals operating in a cellular radiocommunications network. The invention applies in particular to a system implementing the global system for mobile communications (GSM).

A mobile radiocommunications terminal may include stored applications. These applications can then implement data exchanges between the radiocommunications terminal and the network. An application exchanges data via the software interface of the terminal that is known as the application programming interface (API).

Furthermore, data exchanges between two pieces of data processing terminal equipment, e.g. between a radiocommunications terminal and a conventional portable terminal of the portable microcomputer type, can take place only with so-called AT commands being exchanged between the two terminals via a modem. These AT commands are described in the GSM standards.

AT commands are thus dedicated to configuring and controlling modems.

Until now, AT commands have never been used in an application context, i.e. when the user of a radiocommunications terminal seeks to make use of applications situated in the terminal.

An object of the invention is to make the functions offered by AT commands available to any type of environment for executing applications in a radiocommunications terminal.

To this end, the invention provides a method of enabling at least one application stored in a radiocommunications terminal to access functions of said terminal, said terminal being suitable for enabling data to be exchanged in both directions in application of a data standard implementing a transfer channel that conveys so-called “AT” commands, said terminal including an AT command manager, the method being characterized in that access from the stored application to the terminal takes place by exchanging AT commands via said AT command manager.

In a particular embodiment, the AT commands are exchanged via the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

The invention also provides a terminal for implementing the method, said terminal supporting at least one stored application and having means for enabling data to be exchanged in both directions in application of a data standard implementing a transfer channel conveying AT commands, and also having AT command management means, the terminal being characterized in that it includes means for enabling the application stored in said terminal to access functions of the terminal by exchanging AT commands via the AT command management means.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting illustration, and with reference to the drawing specified below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a terminal using the principle of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an HTTP message including an AT command as described in the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a radiocommunications terminal 10 operating in a radiocommunications network. The terminal 10 is suitable for enabling data to be exchanged in both directions using a data standard that implements a transfer channel conveying AT commands.

Conventionally, radiocommunications terminals include an AT command manager enabling them to behave like a modem with respect to other terminals such as a personal computer, thus enabling commands to be exchanged between the terminal 10 and the personal computer. In the invention, AT commands are exchanged within a given terminal 10.

In FIG. 1, the terminal 10 includes an AT command manager 15, a fixed or removable internal memory 20, and stored applications i22 and j24 of different kinds, for example of the banking type and of the commercial ordering type.

The stored applications i22 and j24 may be supplied with the terminal or they may be downloaded by the user from the radiocommunications network. After they have been downloaded, the applications i22 and j24 may be stored in the fixed or removable memory 20.

By downloading applications i22 and j24, the user of the terminal 10 can make use of applications i22 and j24 depending on the requirements of the user, whereas otherwise it would have been necessary to implement the applications in the terminal 10 even if the user does not use them.

These applications i22 and j24 may require access to the functions of the terminal 10 that relate to the field of telephony, for example access to the radiocommunications network in order to undertake operations with the environment outside the terminal 10. They therefore need to make use of the network access resources of the terminal 10.

The applications i22 and j24 access telephony functions using AT commands.

The AT command manager 15 enables AT commands to be handled. It receives requests and returns responses to and from the applications i22 or j24.

The AT command manger 15 is made accessible to the applications i22 and j24 via an HTTP server or via an interface protocol internal to the terminal so as to enable AT commands to be exchanged, these commands being encapsulated by the HTTP protocol within HTTP messages 30.

HTTP messages containing AT commands 30 comprise a header 32 and a body 34 which are described below.

An HTTP server has connection ports 26, some of which are used for access to the AT command manager 15.

When the applications i22 and j24 need to make use of the network access resources of the terminal 10, they contact the HTTP server on the port 26 in order to access the AT command manager 15.

The use of a plurality of ports 26 makes it possible to restrict usage of certain commands to certain applications as a function of a given level of confidence.

By way of example, the level of confidence can relate to the circumstances under which the applications i22 and j24 were downloaded, depending on where the applications come from or on whether or not a secure mechanism was used for downloading.

Each port gives access to a group of AT commands sharing a common level of sensitivity. The sensitivity of an application is defined as a function of its potential for harming a user, i.e. intrusion into the confidential portion of the subscriber identity module (SIM) card, or issuing accesses to the network that will lead to large bills. Sensitivity can be defined by the manufacturer or by the operator.

In the preset example, AT commands are exchanged in the form of a few strings of alphanumeric characters, thereby consuming little of the terminal's resources.

The HTTP server accepts connection requests made by an application i22 on the port 26 requested by the application to enable a request and the associated response to be exchanged in the form of AT commands encapsulated in an HTTP message 30.

For example, the application i22 opens a connection on the HTTP server with the AT command manager 15 over the port 26.

The application i22 builds the request HTTP message constituted by a header 32 and a body 34.

The application i22 then specifies in the header 32 of its HTTP message 30 the number of characters in the body 34. The body 34 of the HTTP message 30 comprises the AT command written as a sequence of alphanumeric characters.

The HTTP response message 30 from the AT command manager 15 is sent via the connection to the HTTP server.

The HTTP response message 30 has a header 32 specifying the status of the request. The body 34 of the HTTP response message 30 contains the response written as a sequence of alphanumeric characters.

When the user requests execution of the application i22, the application makes a connection to the HTTP server in order to access the AT command manager 15. It thus gains access to the telephony functions of the terminal 10 by exchanging AT commands via the HTTP server.

There follows an example of a JAVA type application i22 that has just been downloaded into a terminal 10 by the user of the terminal 10. The application i22 needs to discover the name of the manufacturer of the terminal 10:

This is an example of the request from the application i22 to the AT command manager 15:

-   -   GET/HTTP/1.1 (HTTP connection open)     -   Content-length: 7 (number of characters in the body 34 of the         HTTP message 30, i.e. in the AT command)     -   AT+CGMI (AT command sent to the AT command manager 15)

This is an example of a response:

-   -   HTTP/1.1 <status value (200=OK)> (connection by the AT command         manager 15 authorized via the HTTP server)     -   Content-length: 15 (number of characters in the body 34 of the         HTTP message 30, i.e. in the AT command send by the AT command         manager 15)     -   ALCATEL-MPD (AT command informing the application that it is         running on a terminal made by ALCATEL)     -   OK

In the above example, the application i22 accesses information of very low sensitivity level (name of the manufacturer of the terminal 10).

Nevertheless, the application i22 may require information or resources from a very sensitive level of the terminal 10, e.g. its SIM card.

To make this possible, the AT command manger 15 may offer an application i22 access to distinct groups of AT commands of greater or lesser sensitivity level via distinct ports.

The application i22 may be downloaded either from the operator of the radiocommunications network, the manufacturer, or a third party (e.g. a bank).

The level of confidence given to the application i22 will then depend on where it comes from: level of confidence will be higher for a download from the manufacturer than from the operator, and it will be higher from the operator than from a third party.

Depending on confidence level, the application i22 will or will not have access to groups of AT commands at a very sensitive level in the terminal 10.

The operating environment of the terminal 10 then verifies whether the application has user rights over the requested port, i.e. whether it can access the information requested.

The invention thus enables use to be made of an element that is already present in the radiocommunications terminal: namely the AT command manager, and in an applications context that is made secure. 

1. A method of enabling at least one application (22) stored in a radiocommunications terminal (10) to access functions of said terminal (10), said terminal (10) being suitable for enabling data to be exchanged in both directions in application of a data standard implementing a transfer channel that conveys so-called “AT” commands, said terminal (10) including an AT command manager (15), the method being characterized in that access from the stored application (22) to the terminal (10) takes place by exchanging AT commands via said AT command manager (15).
 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the AT commands are exchanged via the HTTP protocol.
 3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the AT commands are exchanged in the form of HTTP messages (30) comprising at least a header (32) and a body (34), the header (32) containing the number of characters making up the AT command, and the body (34) containing the characters proper of the AT command.
 4. A terminal for implementing the method according to claim 1, said terminal supporting at least one stored application (22) and having means for enabling data to be exchanged in both directions in application of a data standard implementing a transfer channel conveying AT commands, and also having AT command management means, the terminal being characterized in that it includes means for enabling the application stored (22) in said terminal to access functions of the terminal by exchanging AT commands via the AT command management means. 